Immortal Cowboy

by Alexis Morgan

  How else did he think she’d be studying a ghost town? She bit back the snark and aimed for pleasant. “Pretty much. I work in Blessing all day and type up my notes at night.”

  Wyatt picked that moment to move up beside them, standing where she could see him out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at Shawn with what she called his gunslinger game face on. Clearly he wasn’t happy about Shawn being there, but then neither was she. She especially wasn’t happy about his showing up, suitcase in hand. The question was, what spurred Shawn to make the trip in the first place?

  Time to play hostess. “Why don’t you come on inside and tell me why you’re here.”

  As if she couldn’t guess. While they made their way to the porch, she glanced back to check on Wyatt, but he’d disappeared. Somehow she doubted it was one of those times when his energy had run out or whatever it was that caused him to blink out of existence for a while. Where the heck was he?

  She unlocked the door and stepped back to let Shawn walk inside. “Set your bag down anywhere and have a seat in the living room. I’ll fix us a couple of cold drinks and join you in a second.”

  He dropped his suitcase on the steps that led to the bedrooms upstairs. “Sounds good.”

  She filled glasses with ice and grabbed a couple of soft drinks from the refrigerator. Shawn stood in front of the picture window, staring out at the meadow and the trees beyond. He turned to face her just as she set his drink down on the coffee table.

  “That was lucky timing that you happened to be coming back to the cabin right when I drove up.”

  “Yes, it was. I usually stay gone most of the day.”

  She sipped her drink, stalling until she came up with a good reason why she would’ve needed to return just then. Somehow she didn’t think Shawn would believe her if she told him the truth, that her friendly neighborhood ghost had sensed him approaching.

  “I’ve been taking measurements of all the buildings left standing in Blessing, but I forgot my tape measure this morning.”

  She automatically headed for Ray’s favorite chair, leaving Shawn no choice but to take the sofa. An odd look crossed his face, but it was gone before she could read it accurately—maybe disappointment or even frustration. Did he expect her to cuddle up next to him?

  If so, too bad. She wouldn’t have felt very comfortable doing that before she’d left to come up on the mountain. Now that they’ve been apart for a while without her calling him even once, she felt the distance even if he didn’t. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she felt nothing for him beyond the ordinary friendship between two colleagues.

  When the silence dragged on too long for comfort, she asked, “So, what brings you up here?”

  Shawn immediately sat up straighter and set his glass down hard enough to cause the pop to slosh over the top. Obviously, she’d hit the wrong button with that question.

  His expression went completely flat, yet his barely controlled anger was obvious. “You promised to consider spending some time together, Rayanne, but obviously you’re set on spending the whole damn summer up here. That left me no choice but to surprise you. I thought maybe we could take off for a few days, do some sightseeing and stay at a nice hotel somewhere.”

  She hated to disappoint him. “I really wish you’d called first, Shawn. You do know that I’m working up here, not vacationing. I’ve made good progress, but I still have a lot left to do. Once I get my survey done, I want to get a good start on writing. I also need to finish going through my uncle’s things. I’ve barely started on that.”

  If he was aiming for charming her into giving in, he failed miserably. “Oh, come on, Rayanne. You can afford to take a day or two off. It’s not like that ghost town is going anywhere.”

  She prayed for patience. “You’re welcome to stay for dinner and spend the night. I’ll even show you around Blessing this afternoon if you’re interested in seeing it before you go.”

  “Fine, then,” Shawn snapped, not backing down. “I’d love to see what it is about this place that’s kept you fixated on it since you were thirteen.”

  Okay, that did it. “And who told you about that? Never mind, don’t answer that. It had to be my mother. When did you two become so friendly? As far as I knew, you two had only met that one time she stopped by my office last semester.”

  He flushed guiltily. “Uh, yeah, the subject might have come up when she called me at the college to see if I had heard from you recently. She was concerned about you being up here all by yourself and suggested I surprise you with a visit.”

  Before she could decide how to respond, a wave of cool air washed through the room. Great, Wyatt listening in on the conversation was just what she needed right now. She took a slow look around. No sign of him, but he was there. She’d bet money on it.

  Finally, she set her drink aside. “Shawn, I’m sorry you made the trip up here for nothing. I appreciate your concern, but I’m doing fine. I’ve waited my whole professional life to work on a project like this, and, thanks to my uncle, now I’ve got the chance. As I said, you’re welcome to spend the night so you don’t have to risk driving down the mountain in the dark, but it would be better for both of us if you left in the morning. The offer for a tour still stands.”

  She stood up. “I ate breakfast really early this morning, and lunch is sounding good to me. How about I make us each a sandwich?”

  “If you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.”

  She ignored the sarcasm. “Not at all.”

  As she gathered the makings for a quick lunch, she struggled to regain control of her temper. Maybe Shawn did have the right to assume she’d be glad to see him. It wasn’t as if they’d parted on bad terms.

  He followed her back into the kitchen. “So tell me how your work is going. Have you decided what the focus of your paper will be?”

  Slowly, the tension between them faded away, and it felt like old times as she described what she’d accomplished. Over the past couple of years, they’d often spent hours discussing each other’s research projects, colleagues supporting each other. The whole time they talked, she remained all too aware they might not be alone. But if Wyatt was still in the cabin, she couldn’t feel him.

  As she and Shawn carried their lunch out onto the porch, she studied the trees. Finally, she spotted her ghostly companion standing deep in the shadows. He raised his hand to acknowledge her and then faded out of sight. Her own hand automatically raised to wave back. Realizing what she’d been about to do, she acted as if she were brushing away an insect. At least Shawn didn’t appear to have noticed.

  For the next few minutes, the two of them concentrated on finishing their lunch. Once they were done, she’d show Shawn around Blessing that afternoon so that he could get an early start in the morning. She didn’t want to hurt Shawn’s feelings, but she wanted him gone so she could get back to work.

  But if she was going to be honest about it, that wasn’t the real reason. Sitting here with Shawn felt like she was cheating on the other man in her life—Wyatt McCain.

  If that made her crazy, so be it.

  * * *

  Wyatt headed back to where he belonged, leaving Rayanne to entertain her gentleman caller. After all, Blessing was his home, such as it was. He let himself fade out of sight and made his way back to town. Where to next?

  He had no interest in hanging out in the church. Right now the saloon held no real appeal, but it was better than drifting up and down the street with no purpose. He pushed through the doors, deliberately setting them to swinging, a reminder to himself that he had substance, that he was a little bit real. Inside the saloon, he automatically drifted toward the work Rayanne had spread out all over the place.

  Her handwriting was neat and precise. She found even the smallest bit of information he could share interesting. When they’d unearthed an old pitcher underneath
a pile of old lumber, she’d cradled it in her hands with a look of utter wonder on her face. He loved the way she took pleasure in such simple things.

  She’d covered the wall with sketches of the individual buildings and then of the town as a whole. She had a real eye for detail. It spoke to how strongly that day in the belfry fifteen years ago had affected her that she could draw the missing buildings with uncanny accuracy. He hated that for her. Getting drawn into his world was the last thing he wanted for anyone, but especially her.

  The only pictures missing were the sketches she’d done of him. What had she done with them? He smiled, remembering how she’d blushed when she’d picked them up and shoved them under a stack of files. He didn’t expect her to spend any more time here on the mountain after she finished her research, but he hoped that she kept the picture of him.

  It would be nice to be remembered by someone.

  He froze, listening to what the wind was whispering. People were coming his way. It had to be Rayanne, which was fine. The question was why she was dragging her unwanted guest, Shawn, along with her. He doubted the man had any real interest in Blessing. No, it was the heat in Shawn’s eyes whenever he looked at Rayanne that was the driving force behind his feigned interest in her research.

  Wyatt had disliked Shawn on sight, and he didn’t want the man anywhere near Blessing or Rayanne. What kind of man showed up at a woman’s home, dragging his luggage on the assumption he’d be welcome to spend the night? Maybe things were different in the world beyond this mountain, but Wyatt thought he should be horsewhipped for such an outrage.

  It was a damned shame that Wyatt’s guns only worked reliably one day a year. With lightning-fast reflexes, he drew both of his revolvers, taking aim, pretending Shawn was in his sights. Yeah, he’d love to run that son of a bitch right off the mountain. For Rayanne’s sake, he’d refrain from hurting him, but he’d make damn sure the cad didn’t come sneaking back up to her cabin again anytime soon.

  The temptation to shoot off a few rounds was strong. If he were alone in town, he might have tried it. But Rayanne was only down the street. If he’d become so real to her, would his bullets always be real, as well? While he wouldn’t mind putting a scare into Shawn, he wouldn’t risk frightening her. Not again.

  They were almost to the saloon. Should he fade away and allow them some privacy?

  Hell, no.

  He hurried across the room to stand behind the old bar where it would be unlikely that Shawn would run into him. He might not be able to see Wyatt, but he would likely feel the cold that surrounded him. For Rayanne’s sake, he’d do his best to avoid direct contact with her friend.

  That is, unless Shawn made any kind of move toward Rayanne. It had been hard enough to watch him hug her earlier. Anything beyond that and he’d— No, he stopped right there. The truth was, he couldn’t do anything at all. Besides, Shawn could give her everything that Wyatt couldn’t. If he weren’t such a selfish bastard, he would even encourage her to spend time with the man. With that happy thought, he faded to invisible.

  Rayanne came through the door first. Before inviting her companion inside, she glanced all around the room with a worried expression on her face. As she panned the saloon, her eyes swept past him but then snapped right back to where he stood. She stared at him for a second, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  So much for hiding. He gave up and pulled himself back together. Shawn wouldn’t be able to see him, anyway, and obviously there was no hiding from Rayanne. It would be interesting to see if she could ignore him while she showed her friend around. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter behind the bar, meeting her frown with a smile.

  “Come on in, Shawn. You can see what I’ve been working on and then I’ll show you the rest of the town.”

  Her companion followed her inside. Shawn removed his dark glasses and blinked several times to adjust his eyes to the dim interior. Rayanne led him over to the cluster of tables and explained what he was looking at. Wyatt hated the way Rayanne chewed on her lower lip as she waited for her friend to pronounce judgment on her work.

  After studying her line drawings of the interior of the buildings still standing, Shawn wandered over to study her side-by-side sketches of the exteriors now and how they would’ve looked a hundred years ago.

  “I sometimes forget what a talented artist you are. You’ve definitely taken the skeletons of the buildings and brought them back to life in these.”

  Finally, he moved on to the pictures she’d drawn from memory along with Wyatt’s assistance. After a few seconds, Shawn frowned. “I know I haven’t seen the whole town, but it didn’t look as if there were this many buildings left standing.”

  “There aren’t. I drew those from memory.”

  Rayanne obviously regretted letting that slip out when Shawn shot her a questioning look. “From memory? When would you have seen them?”

  She jammed her hands in the front pockets of her jeans and shot Wyatt a quick look. “I should have said memories. I pieced them together from descriptions in books where Blessing was mentioned and from photographs of similar buildings in other towns. My uncle also left me journals written by a couple of relatives who actually lived here in Blessing.”

  Shawn looked surprised. “I didn’t know you’d found any family journals. I’d love to read them sometime.”

  Wyatt frowned. Why hadn’t Rayanne talked about what she’d learned from Hattie’s and Amanda’s journals with him? She’d had plenty of opportunity during the hours they’d spent together roaming through town.

  Hattie had been a young girl when the town died out. By that time, a good part of Blessing had already been torn down, so it must have been Amanda who’d described the town in her journal.

  He had to wonder what horror stories she’d recorded in the pages of that book. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. His name had come up, though, or else why would Rayanne have kept the stories to herself? He’d have to decide whether to press her for answers. Right now, he planned on sticking close as she showed Shawn the rest of the town.

  She shuffled her friend out the door, pausing in the doorway to shoot one last look in Wyatt’s direction. Clearly, she wasn’t happy about him eavesdropping on their conversation. He waited long enough for them to put some distance between them and the saloon before joining them out in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

  As they walked along ahead of him, Shawn put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. The casual familiarity had Wyatt gritting his teeth and wanting to reach for his guns again. But within only a few steps, Rayanne did a sidestep that took her out of Shawn’s reach to point out something of interest. Wyatt smiled at the other man’s frustrated expression, but Shawn was quick to paste a smile back on his face.

  Wyatt moved closer to keep an eye on the situation. It was obvious that Shawn wanted far more from Rayanne than mere friendship. That was fine. It showed that the man had good taste. But if he tried to press the issue in a manner that upset Rayanne, Wyatt would do his damnedest to intervene. With that in mind, he checked the slide of his guns in their holsters and followed his lady down the street.

  * * *

  Rayanne’s jaw ached from grinding her teeth. It was bad enough she was having to fend off Shawn’s clumsy attempts to reassert himself as her boyfriend. She didn’t need Wyatt following their every move as if he were some ghostly chaperone. She was an adult, perfectly capable of taking care of her own problems.

  She shot Wyatt a dirty look when Shawn wasn’t looking, but Wyatt didn’t back off. If he thought that innocent look on his face was working, he was sorely mistaken. Finally, he brushed past her to join Shawn on the porch outside of the mercantile. The jerk! He knew she couldn’t even say anything without confirming her mother’s worst fears, and Rayanne had little doubt that Shawn would carry tales right back to her parent
s.

  Rather than let Wyatt know how mad she was, she carefully schooled her features to look interested in Shawn’s impressions of Blessing. But as the two men stood nearly side by side, it was difficult not to draw comparisons and note that one came out the clear winner—Wyatt McCain.

  Although close in height, their builds were noticeably different. Shawn prided himself on his efforts to keep fit, but he lacked the rock-hard muscles built from years of hard labor. There was a softness about Shawn that didn’t fare well standing next to Wyatt’s lean strength.

  Both men were good-looking. Shawn’s blond hair and dark eyes combined with an engaging smile attracted women of all ages. Charm came easily to him, maybe too easily. Wyatt’s face was more sculpted, all hard edges with the story of his life etched there in harsh lines. Rayanne’s inner woman was definitely drawn to the classic alpha male, but that wasn’t the deciding factor.

  It came down to how each of the two men viewed her. Wyatt’s starkly blue eyes saw too much, but Shawn only saw what he wanted. In the end, it was no contest.

  Wyatt might not understand her passion for studying the past, but he’d done everything he could to help her. Shawn seemed to be jealous of her work, as if she should put it on the back burner to pay more attention to him. Maybe she was wrong to resent Shawn’s intrusion, especially if he really did have strong feelings for her.

  But what if those feelings were only for the woman he wanted her to be? It bothered her a lot that he was such a perfect fit for her mother’s vision of the kind of man Rayanne should want in her life. She might have been able to get past that, but his unexpected alliance with her mother didn’t help his cause.

  The creak of wood snapped her out of her reverie. While she’d been lost in her thoughts, the two men had moved on. Realizing Shawn was about to walk into the mining office, she took off running, yelling his name.

  “Shawn! Stop! That building isn’t safe.”

  He froze and quickly backed out of the doorway. “Thanks for the warning.”